Sufism 1- Tasawuf

July 28th, 2013 by Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani

“IN THE TIME OF THE PROPHET TASAWWUF WAS A REALITY WITHOUT A NAME. TODAY TASAWWUF IS A NAME, BUT FEW KNOW ITS REALITY.”

The Islamic Nation today is in need of good scholars who observe the correct teachings of Islam (`alimun `aamil), trying their best to bring back what has been destroyed of the Islamic religion over the years and who are able to differentiate between right and wrong, halal and haram, and who believe in Haqq and oppose Batil, not fearing anyone on the way of Allah.

Muslims of today have no one to advise them nor guide them in the teaching of their religion and the good manners and behavior of Islam. On the contrary, we see only scholars pretending to know something, imposing their corrupted ideas and beliefs about Islam on everyone. They are at every convention, giving lectures and talks about Islam from a narrow and limited perspective, not according to the guidance the Sahaba of the Prophet nor of the great Imams of Islam nor the consensus of the majority of Muslims.

If scholars would listen to their consciences and return in loyalty and sincerity to Islam without the influence of governments or other powers that control Muslim countries with their money, devoting themselves only to da`wa and irshad and remembrance of Allah and His Prophet (s), then the situation in the Islamic world could change and Muslim life would improve tremendously. Our hope is that in this new Islamic year 1416, Muslims in America and throughout the world will come back together in unity, linked to one rope, Allah’s Rope, to establish the Sunnah and the Shari`ah of Prophet Muhammad (s).

If people will look back deeply into history they will find that after the brave work of the Sahaba, (the Companions of the Prophet(s)), Islam spread East and West and to the Far East through the dawa` and irshad of the scholars and followers of Tasawwuf (Sufism), who followed the True Way of the Caliphs of the Prophet (s)–radi-Allahu `anhum. They were the scholars of true Sufism, which upholds the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah and has never deviated from them.

Islamic zuhd (asceticism) flourished in the first Hijri century and developed into schools that had their foundation and basis of their teachings in the Sunnah and Shari`ah, propagated by zahid scholars who came to be known as the Sufis. Among them were the first four Imams, Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, Imam Shafi`i and Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, as well as al-Imam Abi `Abdallah Muhammad AL-BUKHARI, Abul Husain MUSLIM bin al-Hajjaj, Abu ‘Isa TIRMIDHI. Others were Hasan al-Basri, al-Junaid, Imam Awzai’ And later these included at-Tabarani, Imam Jalaluddin as-Suyuti, ibn Hajar al-Haythami, al-Jardani, ibn Qayyim al-Jawzi, Imam Muhyiddin bin Sharaf bin Mari bin Hassan bin Husain bin Hazam bin NAWAWI, Imam Abu Hamid GHAZALI, Sayyid Ahmad al-Farouqi Sirhindi, to name a few. The Muslim world has come to know Islam through the efforts of these zahid scholars who were known as Sufis because of their loyalty, sincerity and purity of heart.

We are not hiding the fact that at that time, some enemies of Islam came to take an extreme approach, using the name of Sufism, and pretending to be Sufis while spreading strange ideas in order to demolish the true Sufi teachings and poison Muslim ideas about Tasawwuf which the majority of Muslims were following. True Tasawwuf is based on zuhd and Ihsan (purity of the heart). The great Imams of the Muslim world, whose guidance was followed in all Muslim countries, were known to have Sufi masters. Imam Malik, Imam Abu Hanifa, (whose teacher was Ja`far as-Sadiq) Imam Shafi`i (who followed Shayban ar-Rai’) and Imam ibn Hanbal (whose teacher was Bishr al-Hafi) all embraced Tasawwuf.

All courts and universities of Muslim countries teach from the schools of these four Imams up to today. For example, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Yemen, Djibouti, and some other countries follow the Shafi`i madhhab. Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Mauritania, Libya and Somalia follow the Maliki school. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and some other countries follow the Hanbali school. Turkey, Pakistan, India, Ceylon, and some of the Russian republics follow the Hanafi school. The Far Eastern Muslim countries follow the Shafi`i school. Most courts of Muslim countries depend for their fatwas on these four schools and all these four schools accepted Tasawwuf.